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What are your thoughts given some basic info? Fraud, Criminal Intent, PTSD & psychology.
An Army infantry soldier completes a first term 4 year enlistment, excited following 9/11. Possibly serves only one overseas tour, and never fires his weapon in combat. Gets out of Army following enlistment and joins Army Guard. Within first year of guard duty (upon orders for overseas tour) claims PTSD threatens to kill his comrades. Is released from duty.
Member has tried for 12 years to get benefits, and finally receives 100% disability. Claims to his family that his PTSD disease is cured. Does not follow psychologists prescriptions, as they are not really needed.
Was member fit for duty when enlisting in the Army Guard? Or did this member fraudulently join having pre-existing condition?
Can this member have concealed carry and go hunting, when he claims PTSD for gunfire?
would you consider this member to be defrauding the government and taxpayer?
Soldier has lied to family members claiming to be heroic sniper, only to reveal as lies later, having never fired his weapon in actual combat. Possibly used similar lies to VA psychologist.
How would you approach situation? VA does not seem to care, and does not offer path for investigation.
An Army infantry soldier completes a first term 4 year enlistment, excited following 9/11. Possibly serves only one overseas tour, and never fires his weapon in combat. Gets out of Army following enlistment and joins Army Guard. Within first year of guard duty (upon orders for overseas tour) claims PTSD threatens to kill his comrades. Is released from duty.
Member has tried for 12 years to get benefits, and finally receives 100% disability. Claims to his family that his PTSD disease is cured. Does not follow psychologists prescriptions, as they are not really needed.
Was member fit for duty when enlisting in the Army Guard? Or did this member fraudulently join having pre-existing condition?
Can this member have concealed carry and go hunting, when he claims PTSD for gunfire?
would you consider this member to be defrauding the government and taxpayer?
Soldier has lied to family members claiming to be heroic sniper, only to reveal as lies later, having never fired his weapon in actual combat. Possibly used similar lies to VA psychologist.
How would you approach situation? VA does not seem to care, and does not offer path for investigation.
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
PTSD
Posted 4 y ago
Responses: 460
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I do exams for VA for Mental Health and have for many years. The claims file information is rather complete allowing some investigation by the examiner. I personally feel that persons claiming PTSD who did not experience trauma are disrespecting those who did experience trauma and have legitimately been "injured". Unfortunately contractors are handling most exams and are not experienced and have not served and try to get the Veteran out the door in a short time and don't do the thorough investigation because they are in it for the money.
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SSG Edward Tilton
Once again, anxiety vs trauma. Both are compensator, both require treatment but they still manage to confuse the two.
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just kinda sounds like you don't have any time for anyone who has mental health needs... like a sorry leader. You have mental health issues, you were born with them. We all do, that's why we're all different. The way we deal with things is all different. Who cares what that SM says to the therapist or been overseas or not. I've never been in the Navy but have the anxiety of being on a boat and drowning is my biggest fear. Fear keeps us alive, anxiety weighs us down
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I can appreciate many of the comments stating that PTSD is as difficult to define as there are circumstances and I feel an opinion about a right or wrong claim is not for me to offer. As a non-combatant 100%er who has benefited from the evaluation and extended treatment provided by the VA, I have witnessed a wide spectrum of my fellow group participants degrees of PTSD expressed, but that doesn't qualify me to say if it's real. What I can say is that many of us have worked very hard, while living with symptoms of PTSD, to reach a point of quality life and that is what is real to us.
To think that you can declare yourself "cured", declining to participate in treatment for what has been claimed as severe debilitation and then going about your day, as though nothing happened to you or others around you that also suffered from your condition, is one response. Although that behavior does seems suspect, I can also claim that I went through an extended period of denial about my PTSD before I was willing to make the necessary commitment for admission and change.
In the end, my concern is more about the unimaginable number of us who came home in less than one piece and either don't know it and/or don't know how to live with it. Where is it a valid concern that someone might game the system for their personal benefit, my focus is to participate in services, like Veterans Court, that can really make a difference in helping; first to identify negative behavior that is unique to service members as a result of their PTSD and then ultimately offering to guide them to treatment and a productive future.
Bottom line? Focus on healing yourself so that you can be of continuing service to others. Your pledge does not end with your tour.
To think that you can declare yourself "cured", declining to participate in treatment for what has been claimed as severe debilitation and then going about your day, as though nothing happened to you or others around you that also suffered from your condition, is one response. Although that behavior does seems suspect, I can also claim that I went through an extended period of denial about my PTSD before I was willing to make the necessary commitment for admission and change.
In the end, my concern is more about the unimaginable number of us who came home in less than one piece and either don't know it and/or don't know how to live with it. Where is it a valid concern that someone might game the system for their personal benefit, my focus is to participate in services, like Veterans Court, that can really make a difference in helping; first to identify negative behavior that is unique to service members as a result of their PTSD and then ultimately offering to guide them to treatment and a productive future.
Bottom line? Focus on healing yourself so that you can be of continuing service to others. Your pledge does not end with your tour.
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CPL Wilde Geist
I threw a guy under a bus in Los Angeles California and went to prison for it. Not a good idea. I would advise some other action unless you can get away with it.
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CPL Wilde Geist
I shot another in Hawaii in the heart, went to prison for it too. The trick is to not get caught.
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You don"t need to have fired your weapon in combat to have PTSD. I never fired mine in combat. The stress of seeing vehicles and equipment blown up. getting slammed with a concussion blast due to IED or mortar fire, having to force innocent people back with the threat of violence especially children just to protect them, can all lead to PTSD. I am medically retired from the military with 90% and my PTSD has been declared stable. Am I cured? Hell no. Am I living with the new normal? Yes and doing great even managing crowds on a small scale. Combat is not the only stressor that can cause PTSD. Date a woman who had to escape severe domestic violence by hiding in a women's shelter, and you will see what I mean.
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They VA does investigate those people, it just takes finding the file and realizing it. I have a hard enough time sorting through my medical file
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PTSD is the most abused and fraudulent claim there is. I know first hand about 3 soldiers that conspired and told the same stories so that they could all get benefits.
That being said, PTSD is also the hardest thing to disprove as it affects everyone differently. PTSD can also manifest itself years after the fact.
Unless the individual has bragged about gaming the system, some things should be left alone.
That being said, PTSD is also the hardest thing to disprove as it affects everyone differently. PTSD can also manifest itself years after the fact.
Unless the individual has bragged about gaming the system, some things should be left alone.
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SPC Andrew Toombs
yeah, those folks you have to catch them in the act. For me, I been dealing with this respiratory issue. I never wanted to file VA, i wanted to be cured, so I could switch over from Communications US Army to Fly the A10 USAF. But thanks to interference thanks to BS civilian owners who got me caught up in the corruption, it costed me 12+ yrs. I went in for pyshc eval, and what I thought was minor injuries were actually pretty serious. I never though that a simple slip roll of an ankle with 1300 rounds, m249, L4 Anti peircing plates, and 6 liters of water ... nice little roll, make the ankle swoll, so bad I could not even put my shoes on next day, so thank the Ibuprofen, but later on when i tried to make a switch over from Communications to Satelite to get an assignment to Afghan, thanks to this high speed religious 1sgt, my ID card got punched because the Recruiter, thanks to Seattle traffic did not make it on time. I could have made the last extension and done a full med evaluation ... Never got that, so I have this HUGE 4 yrs gap in my medical records.
People have called or considered me phony til they saw the xrays, and see the tilted L5 vertebrae, then their attitude changes real fast, but the VA has misdiagnosed, refused to believe my own diagnosis, medical records missing, but thankfully I have my personal copies, I make sure I keep copies. Then the VA re-diagnosis, saying symptoms non exist for respiratory, then I come down with Asthmatic Pnuemonia ... I like to know how one fakes that. Pretty dangerous and scarey when you SPO2 oxygen absorbtion drops to 81% when you in a sleep study ... how do you fake that? how do you fake water in the knees, and swollen ankles. My pyshc .. I can prove my divorce, tell me that don't affect people, and you want to take a review of the jerkwads I dealt with who need a bracelet made of their teeth ... I rather walk away from the liabilities of all that non-sense, but when you make your investment into a marriage to get ripped off and stabbed in the back ... Wow, that makes laugh at this William Smith Slap, what a puke.
So I really never really played games, unless it was Grand Turismo in the barracks with a 6 pak of Hienken, how do you get PTSD from that ... I already had a bad car accident, I and I was sober ... I honestly hope those phonies are caught. And as for telling people how I got hurt, sure, I tell them to go repeat it, my experience was pretty painful, and now i have a fatty liver condition, probably had it before, but that is just found, so .. now what ... I would find happiness with some land that I can grow a nice Garden and enjoy watching my Rabbits while enjoying Bugs Bunny and being able to laugh without choking on a congest build up in my left lungs ... Go fake that.
I am not aiming that you Sir, I am just disappointed with this crap. because it is like these scam artist are getting these high benefits while the really injuried are neglected/forgotten.
Here is an issue I met in jail out of lakewood WA. Guy named Sanchez, murdered his wife, choked her in his sleep, what made him blackout was the stress of the divorce and lost of his $30k enlistement thanks to his ex wife party and filing for custody of his son, after coming back from afghan (16kills, 6 by his hands, so he said to me in jail, told no one else). People in jail wanted to kill him over his ex wife, i told them I would take on who ever steps in first and whoever next, I am not having this Street thug pride built up on a Veteran ... Sir, i tell you, I sometimes don't know who the enemy is anymore, it just blends in such that only the eyes can tell better than the eyes who is more ugly amoungst the bad, and there is not much good left. but back to Sanchez, .. as far as I know he never got any help ... no resources to coordinate a seperation and retrieval ... pretty harsh ... I hope the US military got him back to Texas to be closer to Family. My thoughts on this is that Veterans who are caught up in legal concerns should not be mixed with the local inmates, and these Scamming Schemers, I like for them to make an additional extension at Leavenworth to pay back the time.
People have called or considered me phony til they saw the xrays, and see the tilted L5 vertebrae, then their attitude changes real fast, but the VA has misdiagnosed, refused to believe my own diagnosis, medical records missing, but thankfully I have my personal copies, I make sure I keep copies. Then the VA re-diagnosis, saying symptoms non exist for respiratory, then I come down with Asthmatic Pnuemonia ... I like to know how one fakes that. Pretty dangerous and scarey when you SPO2 oxygen absorbtion drops to 81% when you in a sleep study ... how do you fake that? how do you fake water in the knees, and swollen ankles. My pyshc .. I can prove my divorce, tell me that don't affect people, and you want to take a review of the jerkwads I dealt with who need a bracelet made of their teeth ... I rather walk away from the liabilities of all that non-sense, but when you make your investment into a marriage to get ripped off and stabbed in the back ... Wow, that makes laugh at this William Smith Slap, what a puke.
So I really never really played games, unless it was Grand Turismo in the barracks with a 6 pak of Hienken, how do you get PTSD from that ... I already had a bad car accident, I and I was sober ... I honestly hope those phonies are caught. And as for telling people how I got hurt, sure, I tell them to go repeat it, my experience was pretty painful, and now i have a fatty liver condition, probably had it before, but that is just found, so .. now what ... I would find happiness with some land that I can grow a nice Garden and enjoy watching my Rabbits while enjoying Bugs Bunny and being able to laugh without choking on a congest build up in my left lungs ... Go fake that.
I am not aiming that you Sir, I am just disappointed with this crap. because it is like these scam artist are getting these high benefits while the really injuried are neglected/forgotten.
Here is an issue I met in jail out of lakewood WA. Guy named Sanchez, murdered his wife, choked her in his sleep, what made him blackout was the stress of the divorce and lost of his $30k enlistement thanks to his ex wife party and filing for custody of his son, after coming back from afghan (16kills, 6 by his hands, so he said to me in jail, told no one else). People in jail wanted to kill him over his ex wife, i told them I would take on who ever steps in first and whoever next, I am not having this Street thug pride built up on a Veteran ... Sir, i tell you, I sometimes don't know who the enemy is anymore, it just blends in such that only the eyes can tell better than the eyes who is more ugly amoungst the bad, and there is not much good left. but back to Sanchez, .. as far as I know he never got any help ... no resources to coordinate a seperation and retrieval ... pretty harsh ... I hope the US military got him back to Texas to be closer to Family. My thoughts on this is that Veterans who are caught up in legal concerns should not be mixed with the local inmates, and these Scamming Schemers, I like for them to make an additional extension at Leavenworth to pay back the time.
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